Roasting Marshmallows
by iluvjamesie
Summary: Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione take a well needed break from their jobs and go camping together! Pranks, passion and lots of laughs ensue! HPGW RWHG PostHogwarts.
1. A Bus Ride

Hello my darling fellow fanfictioners! I'm back! Only because it's the summer holidays and everyone I know is out of town... so I have decided to devote my time to writing another fic, because I'm just itching to get back in the game and start writing. Once school starts, I won't be able to do much I'm afraid, because I'm starting my GCSE years. There's always Christmas and Easter and whatever other holidays I have. Oh and don't worry, I fully intend to finish this fic before school starts – I wouldn't torture you guys so much as to leave the ending till next year. Well enjoy this one – my summer project! Please review with any comments – constructive criticism is always welcome.

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything… if I did, then I'd be the richest woman on earth, duh!_

**Roasting Marshmallows**

**Chapter 1**

It was a bright and sunny morning and a little alarm clock on a bedside table suddenly went off, indicating that it was exactly 7:30. A hand reached out from under the covers of the bed nearby and pressed the snooze button. A ruffled head that emerged from under the cover then followed the hand. The body of Harry Potter fully emerged and he stretched his arms above his head and yawned. Getting out slowly he made his way to the bathroom in his bungalow.

He was just in the process of starting his shave when through the bathroom mirror he saw a large suitcase packed on the floor next to him. His drowsy mind took some time thinking over it, and then with a rush he remembered. He remembered what day it was and what he was going to be late for if he didn't hurry up.

At that very same time, not too far away from Harry's apartment, a redheaded young woman was applying the finishing touches to her make-up. Satisfied, she had a quick look around her own apartment to make sure she had left nothing important behind and then, gathering up her bags, headed out the door.

She walked up the narrow street that was slowly filling up with people, until she came to a junction. She took the turn that said "Godric's Hollow" and walked up another lane before she came in sight of a large bungalow. She walked up to the door and knocked. She heard a loud thump, which was followed by an "Ow!" before the door opened. Harry Potter, looking just as dishevelled as he had when he had awoken, smiled when he saw Ginny at his doorstep.

"Sorry Gin," he said, ushering her in, "I'm still kinda… getting ready."

"That's ok," she grinned back, "I'm a bit early anyway. The train leaves at 9:30."

"So what time are Ron and Hermione getting there?" asked Harry, while he desperately tried to get Hedwig into her cage, "They are coming together aren't they?"

"No they're not," said Ginny, who had taken over the getting-hedwig-into-cage-while-taking-the-risk-of-being-severely-scratched-by-the-bird's-talons job from Harry, "Hermione's parents are leaving for Mongolia this week and she'd gone to see them for the weekend. She'll come from there and Ron will come as soon as his boss gives consent for his leave."

"Oh, ok," said Harry, who had finally ­gotten out of his pyjamas and had combed his hair to the best of is ability, "Ok, well I'm ready. Let's go shall we."

The two of them grabbed their bags and walked out of the house. They walked back down the street that Ginny had come by and when they came to the junction, they took the turn that said "Station Shuttle Pick-Up Point". They walked for about a minute before they came to a bus stop where a crowd of people were already assembled. Harry and Ginny put down their bags and sunk onto one of the benches.

"God, I hardly got any sleep last night," said Harry, rubbing his tired eyes, "That real estate person came over again and tried to persuade me into turning the house into a museum."

"I hope you turned her straight down!" exclaimed Ginny, "You wouldn't ever consider it, would you?"

"I don't know," said Harry seriously, "it's too big for me, and I only wanted to stay a while to pay respect to my parents."

"It's the most beautiful house I've ever seen," said Ginny fervently, "And I will never forgive you if you let it be turned into a museum!"

She said the last word with such utmost disgust that Harry couldn't help chuckling.

"Don't worry, Ginny." He said, lightly squeezing her arm, "I'd never do anything without your permission."

An old lady sitting near them had been amusedly watching their conversation. She now smiled, leaned across and tapped Harry on the arm.

"Engaged couple, eh?" she said, loud enough for the entire bus stop to hear, "I can tell! Best time of one's life, it is!"

Harry and Ginny blushed scarlet, and Harry managed to mumble, "No, we're not… exactly..."

The old lady didn't seem to be embarrassed at her. She just smiled some more, and turned back around in her seat. Harry mock-glared at her, and then grinned at Ginny. Ginny smiled back, and waved away any feelings of embarrassment the stupid old lady had caused her. Harry and herself had been together ever since his last year at Hogwarts. That was a solid 2 years. But certainly not solid enough to be ready for marriage. She loved Harry with all her heart and she knew he reciprocated, but just being around Ron and Hermione proved to them that they still had a long way to go before they could be as perfect for each other as their friends were. Then again, Ron and Hermione had been best friends since they were 11, so that put them a good many years ahead of Harry and Ginny too.

Harry and Ginny made small talk for a while more, waiting for the bus to arrive. They lived so close to each other that most of the time it felt like they were living _together_. They knew everything there was to know about each other's lives already, and so they fell into an easy silence, only speaking when they felt the urge.

The bus finally arrived, and the small horde of people clambered on, pushing for seats. Harry immediately pulled Ginny as far away from the old lady as he could. They ended up squished between two fat men, one of whom was noisily enjoying his packed breakfast of bacon sandwiches, and the other who was sweating profusely.

"Why aren't we apparating again?" muttered Harry, leaning closer to Ginny so he wouldn't have to touch the sweaty man.

"Well I'm not very good, you know that," whispered back Ginny, "And with all our luggage, it would've been damn near impossible for me, ok?"

"Ok, ok," said Harry, "But that doesn't change the fact that this guy stinks like the time the Giant Squid took a Giant Dump on the shore!"

Ginny burst out laughing and punched Harry playfully on the arm.

"I have an idea on how to save you," she said suddenly, her eyes sparkling with mischief, "Come here."

She started kissing him, running her hands over his face and up to his hair. Harry was completely surprised but got into it quickly enough. He could hardly conceal his shock when Ginny started moaning into his mouth however. He went slightly pink because he could feel curious glances being thrown in his direction, and even caught sight of a triumphant smile on the lips of the old lady.

"Ginny" he tried protesting into her mouth, but she simply intensified her movements practically pushing him down so he was bumping into the perspiring man. The man with the sandwiches seemed to be enjoying the show, and was still stuffing his mouth and acting as though he was in a movie theatre. The sweaty man however was getting annoyed and when Ginny started reaching underneath Harry's shirt, he abruptly stood up and made his way to a corner seat somewhere up the bus.

Harry and Ginny brought their show of passion to an end and shuffled up a bit to occupy the departed man's seat as well as their own.

"Brilliant idea, Ginny." laughed Harry, reaching over and wiping her mouth, which was completely smudged with lipstick.

Ginny grinned, and the two of them sat back to enjoy the rest of the journey comfortably.


	2. The Burrow

**Roasting Marshmallows**

**Chapter 2**

_RECAP: "Brilliant idea, Ginny." laughed Harry, reaching over and wiping her mouth, which was completely smudged with lipstick._

_Ginny grinned, and the two of them sat back to enjoy the rest of the journey comfortably._

At the other end of London, Ron Weasley was sitting in a cramped office cubicle. There were several such cubicles surrounding him, the difference being that the people occupying them were busy working. Ron was far too engrossed in a little brown package lying open in front of him to pay attention to the mounds of files and papers on his desk. The brown paper was lying in shreds on the desk and Ron was now holding what it had originally protected. It was a small white box - completely harmless looking. Yet any outsider could tell that there was great unrest in the mind of the young Weasley. He was staring nervously at it, a few drops of sweat appearing on his forehead.

"Come on, Ron!" he said to himself after a few seconds, "Get a grip on yourself!"

He mentally shook himself and started to open the box. A brilliant flash momentarily blinded his gaze, and when it was over, he looked into the box and smiled. It was even more stunning than he'd remembered.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Ginny! Harry!" came an ear-splitting shriek from inside, as the youngsters walked up to the front door of The Burrow. Before they had time to react, the door was flung wide open and the form of Mrs. Weasley beamed at them. She tugged them both towards her and gave them a gigantic hug.

"Honestly Mum," said Ginny, gasping for breath, "One would think you hadn't seen us for a century!"

"Well you don't visit enough, now that you're living away from home!" exclaimed her mother, leading them inside the house, "And Harry dear, why haven't you come? Both of you surely can't be so busy at work as to not have time to come visit me? It gets so awfully lonely here nowadays. For so many years I've been used to children stomping up and down stairs, screaming at the top of their voices, tricks, pranks, tears, God knows what! And now, just me and Arthur together in the evenings… no one else to cook for anymore…"

She carried on in this fashion while she led them into the kitchen and put the kettle on to boil. Harry and Ginny dragged their suitcases in and then collapsed into some chairs. They smiled and rolled their eyes at each other as Mrs. Weasley rambled on.

"So now you're not leaving this house until you swear on oath that you will owl every week and visit every month. Do I make myself clear?" she finished.

She passed them both mugs of steaming hot tea and then produced a large plate of chocolate chip cookies. Harry took one look at them and, well, it was love at first sight. He helped himself to a handful while Mrs. Weasley questioned them about their journey.

"It was great mum," said Ginny, nudging her foot against Harry's under the table and going slightly pink.

"The toilet cubicle was too small though," put in Harry, and at this Ginny choked into her mug. Harry gave her a surprised look, and she mumbled, "Yeah I thought so too." Mrs. Weasley nodded sympathetically and the turned back to the kettle to fill some more water. While her back was turned, Harry winked at Ginny and she whacked him on the leg. He pouted cutely back at this, and she couldn't help grinning.

"So when are the others getting here, Mrs. Weasley?" asked Harry.

"Well… Hermione's coming tomorrow morning, Ron said he'd try to come by tomorrow as well but would probably reach the morning after," said Mrs. Weasley, "Fred and George are arriving tomorrow, with Angelina and Katie of course. Bill and Fleur are coming sometime in the next four days, depending on when they want to end their honeymoon and Charlie and Percy will get in sometime at the end of the week."

Just then, the front door opened and closed with a bang. Mr. Weasley entered the kitchen and beamed when he saw Ginny and Harry. Ginny jumped up and rushed forward to hug him.

"Hullo, Harry!" said Mr. Weasley, "Taking care of yourself?"

Harry greeted him and Mrs. Weasley immediately suggested dinner. Harry and Ginny were starving as the food on the train had been awful as expected, and they had also undertaken some rather energetic exercise in a certain toilet cubicle…

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Ginny was awoken the next day by a loud "meow" coming from next to her pillow. She opened her eyes and saw a great big pair of unblinking grey eyes – definitely not human. She instinctively shot up in her bed and was about to scream when she saw whom the monstrous eyes belonged to.

"Crookshanks!" exclaimed Ginny, gathering the cat into her arms, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

There was a slight chuckle, and Ginny immediately looked up to see the form of Hermione Granger, standing by the bed.

"Hermione!" shrieked Ginny, and leaped out of bed to throw herself onto her best friend whom she hadn't seen in weeks.

"Wassat?" Harry jerked up, looking around blearily, startled awake by Ginny's scream. He rubbed his eyes, and smiled when he saw Hermione.

"Hey, Harry," said Hermione, leaning over to his side of the bed to hug him.

"Hermione!" said Ginny suddenly, "You've got orange legs!"

Hermione blushed.

"Well um… yeah I know," she mumbled, and as Harry and Ginny gave her quizzical looks, she looked embarrassed, "See, I tried one of those fake tan things… only I did it wrong."

"Fake tan?" said Harry incredulously, while Ginny hooted with laughter, "Why on earth were you getting a fake tan? It's summer, you can get a real tan!"

"Yes I know!" said Hermione, her face flaming, "I just wanted to try it out! And the stupid machine didn't tell you how many times to squirt. The guy said that it would disappear in a week if I rubbed olive oil in every day, but so far it's taken 10 days for only my arms to go back to normal! And of course, I had very intelligently packed every piece of clothing I possess except my skirts! So that baboons like Ginny can laugh at my misfortune!"

This only caused Ginny to laugh harder, rolling around violently on the bed while Hermione watched her half-amused, half-exasperated. Mrs. Weasley popped her head around the door suddenly to announce the arrival of Fred and George.

The next thing that happened was complete pandemonium. Harry, Hermione and Ginny heard the group stomp up the stairs having general conversation at the top of their voices, sounding much more like elephants than people. Ginny's bedroom door was flung open and the comical twins marched in, followed by their girlfriends Angelina and Katie.

There was a hullabaloo of greetings including "Ginny, you haven't changed a bit!" (from Katie) and "Angelina, it's been months!" (from Hermione) as well as the "Well, Harry you're certainly looking a bit fat!" (from Fred) and "Hermione, you're legs are… orange?" (from Angelina).

Mrs. Weasley could barely make her voice heard above the racket, but years of experience had equipped her lungs well enough to shout out, "It's breakfast time! Everyone, down in the kitchen now!"

And so, the din moved downstairs for a scrumptious breakfast of milk and toast and Mr's Weasley's famous English muffins.

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_AN: Hope you're enjoying it thus far… It's going a bit slowly I know, but have patience. Once things get started, they'll really get started. Please review with any comments you might have… also, what do you think was in the parcel Ron had with him?_


	3. Enter Ron

AN: Well, well, you guys are way too smart for your own good! Or maybe I'm just crap at subtlety… enjoy this one… the story kind of starts now.

**Roasting Marshmallows**

**Chapter 3**

The afternoon went by in a flash. Everyone was now so firmly embedded in his or her job that taking a break to come to the Burrow was the best vacation one could ever hope to have. There was a wonderfully relaxed feeling about the place – always familiar and comfortable. After Hogwarts, it was the place that Harry felt most at home in.

After breakfast, everyone except Hermione (who came as a spectator all the same) had gone off to play Quidditch in the nearby paddock that they usually used. The game was fast and furious, and the six exhausted players trooped back home for an excellent lunch. They lazed around after that, stuffed with roast chicken, vegetables and Mrs. Weasley's special homemade ice-cream. Hermione and Ginny had caught up with Angelina and Katie, and eagerly discussed where all the people they had known at Hogwarts had gone and how successful they were being in their chosen careers.

As dusk fell, and most of them were still slouched on the sofas in the living room, they suddenly noticed the fireplace start to glow, and shoot tiny sparks out. A whoosh of green smoke appeared and Ron Weasley stepped wearily out, clutching his trunk and owl cage.

"Ron!" squealed Ginny, and Hermione and Mrs. Weasley came running out from the kitchen, where the latter had been attempting to teach Hermione cooking without magic. Ron grinned rather weakly around at everyone, hugged those who weren't knackered enough to get up, and kissed Hermione, who had practically thrown herself onto him.

"You don't look so good, Ron," said George, indicating his baggy eyes and tired appearance.

"It's nothing," said Ron, shrugging it off, "Just my boss giving me hell as usual, that's all!

"Yes, well, you did insist on working with the Chudley Cannons!" said Ginny.

"Yeah, but I'd thought that by now I'd have gotten to work on field tactics and what not. But I'm still their bloody assistant to assistant of secretary!" growled Ron, "And they still treat me worse than a pile of Hippogriff -"

"Ron!" said Hermione and Mrs. Weasley simultaneously, causing everyone to laugh.

"It's tough, bro," said Fred, "But it's how the corporate ladder works. You'll have to get used to it!"

Ron miserably shook his head and sank into the nearest armchair.

"Cheer up, Ron," said Katie, "You're away from it now! Enjoy the break!"

"You're right," said Ron, a hint of his old cheerful grin back in place, "So what's been going on?"

"Pandemonium!" replied Hermione, shaking her head, "I don't know how your poor mother is managing it all!"

"Mum's used to taking in lots of people," said Fred, airily.

"You should have seen it this afternoon, when everyone came back from Quidditch," continued Hermione, ignoring Fred's comment, "There was mud on every inch of this floor, people were barging up and down the stairs with no clothes on, and god knows what was going in the shower in Fred's room!"

Fred and Angelina at least had the humility to blush.

"Dinner!" called Mrs. Weasley who had rushed back into the kitchen to finish preparing the evening meal as soon as she had finished greeting Ron.

Everyone trooped into the kitchen and sat down around the huge table that was assembled. Mrs Weasley gave Ginny a pile of plates to pass around and then went over to the stove to take the enormous pot of it.

CRASH!

"What was that?" cried Mrs. Weasley, wheeling around and clutching at her chest.

There was shattered enamel all over the floor, and a guilty-looking Ginny standing in the middle of the clutter.

"Ginevra Weasley!" screamed Mrs. Weasley, "Have you absolutely no control over your hands?"

She looked around for her wand to clear the mess up but couldn't see it anywhere.

"It's ok, Mum," said George consolingly, "We'll do it."

He took out his wand, winked at Fred, who pulled out his as well. They pointed them at the broken dishes and shouted, "Repariento!"

"That's not the spell for…" began Hermione, but nobody heard her. This was because the plates had risen in the air, started swirling very fast around and around the room, causing everyone to scream and drop to the floor covering their heads with their hands.

"Whoops!" shouted Fred and George over the din. "Must've forgotten our elementary spells!"

There followed a few minutes of commotion, with the broken pieces of plate still flying around the room, and with people crawling on all fours desperately trying to get to the door to get to the safety of the living room. Mrs. Weasley finally found her wand (in the kitchen sink, halfway down the drain) and hurriedly got up.

"Immobulus!" she shouted, causing the plates to freeze, and everyone to give a sigh of relief and climb back to their feet.

"Right," said Mrs. Weasley, her face bright red, her chest heaving with anger, "Thank you, Fred and George, for that wonderful display of china."

"Uh yeah, sorry about that, we didn't…" began Fred, grinning.

"UPSTAIRS TO YOUR ROOM NOW! THE BOTH OF YOU ARE TO STAY THERE UNTIL THIS KITCHEN IS RESTORED TO ITS NORMAL STATE!" shouted Mrs. Weasley, "AND DON'T YOU DARE WHINE ABOUT YOUR GROWLING STOMACHS!"

Mumbling and grumbling, the twins shuffled out of the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley mopped her brow, and turned around to face the rest of the group, most of who were trying to hide grins.

"Honestly," muttered Mrs. Weasley, flicking her wand at the immobilized plates so that they fixed themselves and landed on the table. "Those two, still act like they're in their first year of Hogwarts!"

She ladled out soup and set out the lamb chops and vegetables so that everyone could help himself or herself. She then loaded up two plates with food and put them on a large tray.

"Ginny," she began, and then quickly corrected herself, "No, actually, that's not the best idea… Hermione, dear, could you take this tray up to those rascals?"

"Of course, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione, beaming at her. She disappeared upstairs with the tray, and returned a few minutes later to find everyone conversing merrily while tucking into their delicious food.

"This is what I miss most about home," declared Ron heartily, spearing a potato and shoving it into his mouth, "The food!"

"Harry," said Hermione, reaching over Ron's arm to take some veggies, "I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

"Mmmhhh?" asked Harry, through a mouthful of lamb chop.

"Well, since recently you've been talking about quitting your job, and I haven't exactly been planning on keeping the job I'm in right now," she began, "I thought maybe we could start something together."

Harry swallowed his food, looked at her and said, "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I've always thought it strange that the wizarding world is so into Quidditch, yet they play no other sports apart from it," said Hermione.

"That is true," said Harry, thoughtfully, "Funny, I've never realized that!"

"Yes, well, people have always thought I'm no good at sports simply because I don't play Quidditch," replied Hermione, looking around at everyone, "But I used to play a pretty mean game of tennis before coming to Hogwarts."

"Really?" asked Harry, surprised, "Do you still play?"

"No…" said Hermione, "But I always watch Wimbledon when I go home for the summer!"

"Well, it's a great idea, starting an academy or something," exclaimed Harry.

Just then, Mrs. Weasley re-appeared in the kitchen. She had been organizing beds for everyone to sleep in tonight, and she now had a rather worried look on her face.

"We appear to have a slight problem," she said, sitting down on a chair at the table.

"What's the matter?" asked Angelina.

"Well, before Ron arrived, everyone was already squashed into two bedrooms because of the flood in the top floor rooms." Mrs. Weasley began, "And I'm afraid eight of you can't possibly fit now."

"Oh… well, some of us can sleep on the couches downstairs?" suggested Katie.

"I suppose that's a possibility," said Mrs. Weasley doubtfully.

"The four of us could sleep downstairs," said Harry, indicating Ginny, Ron, Hermione and himself, "And the twins and Angelina and Katie upstairs."

"Alright, but we'll think about further improvements in the morning. I really don't think you lot will be comfortable." Said Mrs. Weasley getting up and heading out of the kitchen to get some pillows and blankets.

Everyone had finished eating by now, and they piled their dishes into the sink and went off to help Mrs. Wesley set up the beds.

"There's this couch here," said Ron, "That'll fit two people."

"And this one will do for the other two" said Ginny, throwing herself onto one that was parallel to Ron's choice.

"We'll be fine Mrs. Weasley!" reassured Hermione, seeing the doubtful look on the older woman's face.

"Yeah, Mum, stop fussing!" said Ginny. "It's just for tonight anyway, we'll figure out somewhere else in the morning."

They arranged pillows and blankets in strategic places and looked around in satisfaction. It looked as though it would be quite comfortable, if a bit squashed.

"Blimey, it's early I know," said Ron, stretching his arms up and collapsing onto one of the couches, "But I'm tired as hell."

"We can get to bed now I suppose." said Hermione, and Harry and Ginny shrugged.

"Alright, I'll go brush my teeth." saying so, Hermione scampered off to the bathroom. When she returned, she found Harry and Ginny lying on one of the couches, their heads on opposite ends, and their feet placed neatly next to the other's head. Hermione couldn't help chuckling at the sight of them.

"What?" asked Harry and Ginny together.

"You look so funny lying like that!" she exclaimed, and turned to her own couch, on which Ron was sprawled, snoring away.

She smiled and poked him, causing him to mutter something and turn over a bit, giving her more room.

"I missed you," he mumbled sleepily, pulling her closer. She kissed him lightly and gently stroked his hair as he drifted back to sleep.

**AN: Really sorry about the slow update but this chapter is pretty long compared to my usual standard. Hope you guys are not getting bored/annoyed at this fic… it is pretty lame – not my best writing so far, but will get better hopefully!**


	4. Off to Camp

AN: I'm so sorry about the lack of updating! Hopefully you lot will forgive me and continue to read this story. I'm going to be honest and tell you that I can't promise regular updates, but I will promise that I'll try my utmost to do so!

**Roasting Marshmallows**

**Chapter 4**

Mrs. Weasley was stirring a huge pot of porridge when the first lot of people started drifting into the kitchen. These were a very sleepy and disgruntled looking Harry, Hermione, and the two Weasley's that had slept with them.

"Good morning," said Mrs. Weasley cheerfully, "I told you it wouldn't be comfortable… we'll have to think of something else to do!"

Harry shook his head miserably, and said, "That was the worst night ever. Every 5 seconds, Ginny's foot would come out of nowhere and smack me right on the head."

Ginny glared at him, then flopped her head onto the kitchen table and started to doze off. Mrs Weasley passed around the bowls, and by the time the Weasley twins and their girlfriends appeared, everyone was tucking into a delicious breakfast, and feeling a whole lot better.

"Alright, well, I called Mr. Flaherty early this morning, and he said he'd come around to see to the top floor, but he said that last week as well, so don't count on it too much," said Mrs. Weasley, once the noise had dimmed to a munching and chewing, "Which leaves us with a problem. Bill and Charlie are coming in this week, and there is simply no place for them to sleep."

"And lets not forget that we are never again being subjected to as torturous a night as the last one!" said Ron.

"Well, why don't we push off somewhere else?" said Harry, to immediate sounds of protest from Mrs. Weasley.

"Hey, that's a good idea!" said Ginny, "We have camping stuff, and we could go into the woods just an hour or so from here!"

"Ginny thinks we didn't camp out enough as a family," chuckled Ron, "This would be her dream come true."

"That's nice," said Mrs. Weasley, "Come home to see your dear old mum for a day, and then push off immediately. Just like you lot!"

"Mrs. Weasley, we'd only really be gone for the nights!" said Hermione, who was beginning to get excited about this proposition herself, "And maybe a few picnics, and maybe we could find some lake somewhere and camp by it and have midnight swims and maybe…"

"No, if you're going to go camping, you may as well do it properly," said Mrs. Weasley, cutting off Hermione, before she got too carried away, "I can pack you enough food for a few days, and you can come back anytime you need anything."

"This is a splendid idea!" cried Ginny, jumping out of her seat in excitement, "I'll go pack! When are we leaving?"

It was decided that they would aim to leave before dusk, otherwise leave it to the next morning. The latter meant they'd have to spend another night squashed on the couches, so they were all determined to get everything packed and ready for departure as soon as possible. Mrs. Weasley got set to work collecting all the food she could prepare for their trip, and by noon, everything was set to go.

They had a minor drawback when Harry set off a terrific yawn, and nearly collapsed onto the dining table, and Mrs. Weasley insisted that the four of them go upstairs and take a nap before attempting to do anything else. There wasn't much argument, as none of them had gotten very much sleep and were completely exhausted. They had a good, long sleep, and awoke at around 3 o' clock, finally ready to set off camping.

2 hours later, they were trekking through the woods, carrying huge rucksacks stuffed with goodies and snacks, and not very many other things. Harry was also carrying their one tent they would all sleep in, a magical tent however, meaning they'd be a lot more comfortable than they were on the couches.

"How much further?" muttered Hermione, as she pulled a millionth twig from her hair, "I'm tired!"

"Not much," said Ron, grinning at the mess the woods had made of her hair, "Few more minutes and we'll be at the little clearing we usually use for our campsite."

Harry and Ginny were a few yards ahead, singing at the top of their voices and scaring off any birds that were unfortunate enough to come into radius of hearing.

"These bags are so huge," said Harry, as they paused between songs. He motioned to the bag towering of Ginny's head. "Even muggles have come up with more compact inventions!"

"These are really old," replied Ginny, "Mum and Dad used to use them with their friends, a looooong time ago!"

They walked on in silence for a few minutes, listening to the calming sounds of nature all around them.

"Why didn't we just fly there?" said Harry, suddenly struck by this notion.

"What, and miss poor Hermione's suffering?" giggled Ginny, turning around to see Ron desperately trying to free Hermione's bag from where it was caught in a drooping branch.

Harry laughed, and the two of them waited for the other pair to catch up, before resuming their walk all together.

They got to their little clearing of a campsite not soon after, and began to set up base. They all chipped in the constructing of the tent, and then dragged all their bags inside to unpack the food into the kitchen. Their tent was one of the biggest you could get on the market, with 2 fully furnished bedrooms, a large kitchen, and plenty of living space for eating, or hanging out.

Each couple then chose their bedroom, and went inside to unpack their clothes and check out the toilets, which were very modern and comfortable.

"This isn't exactly traditional," laughed Harry, as he saw Ginny beaming at large bathtub jacuzzi, "Camping is meant to be about natural resources and discomfort. Not luxurious five star treatment!"

Hermione called out to them from the kitchen that dinner was ready, and the pair rushed out quickly, starving from their long trek. There were slices of bread on a plate, with dishes of fillings around it.

"I thought maybe we should eat outside," said Ron, "Not stay cooped up in here all the time!"

"Oh yes, the moon's almost full tonight and its so bright outside!" exclaimed Ginny excitedly, "And you can see so many stars out here in the wilderness!"

The four made their way outside with their sandwiches, and plonked themselves down onto the grass. It truly was a brightly lit night, and with the soft sounds of crickets and owls, the atmosphere was a lovely one. As soon as she had finished eating, Ginny lay down onto the grass and stared up at the beautiful, star-filled sky. She pulled the others down as well, and they all lay there, contented and sleepy, at peace with the world around them.


End file.
